Madness
by reaverattack
Summary: Just a small, angsty ficlet I wrote for class...


**Disclaimer: **If you sue me, I shall laugh at your idiocy... HAHAHA!

**A/N: **This story, along with A One-Sided Coin, was written for language class using stupid vocabulary words that everybody knows. Our wonderful educator seems to think that the advanced class can't handle words like 'nemesis' or 'subtle.' I will underline the vocab words so that you, too, can laugh at the stupidity of this assignment. At least I could get a bit of fanfic out of it...

* * *

River vehemently despised being crazy. She hated being drugged, rendered unconscious. Her _ge ge _was a great doctor, and did what he did with virtuous intent. She was insane and he was trying to fix her. So, it was somewhat often that River awoke, oblivious to the last few days.

* * *

River sat up in her bed, a bit groggy from the medications. The proximity alert was beeping, and, as the pilot of the ship, River was slightly annoyed that nobody had checked on it.

River slid her door open and walked into Simon's room. It was empty. Perhaps her brother was with Kaylee. She silently floated up the steps with only the sound of the alert in the air. River poked her head into the engine room, realizing that she must look like some absurd owl with its head cocked. The room was absent of both mechanic and doctor.

River was beginning to grow nervous. Where was everybody? There was always some sort of noise on the ship. Except at night, of course. But it wasn't night.

River walked through the galley, her worry growing. She gnawed on her bottom lip. She had been hoping to find them in the galley, enjoying some sort of attempt at a meal. They were not there. River's panic level rose. She traveled quickly to the bridge and turned off the incessant beeping.

She scanned the black for whatever they had been approaching, but found it empty. There was nothing out there. The alert must have beeping for a long time. Why had no one turned it off? River exited the room, on the verge of tears. She couldn't sense them anywhere. Had they left her?

River took a shaky breath before descending the stairs into the cargo bay with much trepidation. They had to be there. Where else would they be? They were probably just playing ball. That had to be it.

She was wrong.

The horrid scent of metallic blood and rotting meat assaulted her nose. They were all in the cargo bay. River felt sick. She dry heaved, but there was nothing in her stomach to toss. Her eyes and throat stung with tears. River's home had been invaded.

By Reavers.

Reavers were the nemeses to life, to humankind, to happiness. They were death. River's friends, her_ family_, lay strewn about on the floor of the cargo bay, killed in the notorious style of Reavers. Painfully. Horribly. Slowly.

River could imagine the havoc. It looked as if Jayne fought hard. He probably threw grenades and had taken down invaders with a gusto for violence that only Jayne could muster. The captain appeared to have done something foolish, trying to save his crew. Looking at the large, careless gash on his throat and the bones protruding from his flesh, he had come too close to the invading horde. Inara's once beautiful body lay next to his. She had probably tried to save him. Zoe's very pregnant form was nowhere among the carnage. The Reavers had probably taken her. Had probably eaten her and her unborn child alive. Kaylee was hard to look at. Her body was untouched save one bullet in her head.

A bullet that matched the gun in Simon's cold, lifeless hand.

His body was near the entrance to the commons, away from most evidence of the melee. He had running towards her bunk. It was most likely a valiant attempt to save her the way he had saved Kaylee. But the Reavers had caught up. Simon's head lay a few feet from his mangled corpse. Her beautiful savior of a brother was gone.

River supposed the Reavers hadn't thought to search the ship for others, with so many fighting. Perhaps they had become distracted by their latest kills. She had escaped the fight, but not the pain. River felt her very being fill with contrition. Why hadn't she woken up? She could have helped them, _saved_ them! She had taken on Reavers before!

Now she had nothing left to keep her company but madness.


End file.
